WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Jeimer Candelario has 606 games of major league experience, zero of which have come in the postseason. So when the Nationals third baseman stepped into the box at loanDepot Park in Miami one week ago for his first at-bat representing the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, he had to take a moment to soak in the

SARASOTA, Fla. – Bryan Baker sees the glimmers of good through the pile of poor spring statistics. Baker has made six exhibition appearances and allowed runs in five of them. Nine total and 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings. A serious issue if he were fighting for his professional life, if he hadn’t become a trusted high-leverage reliever for the Orioles la

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The contact in the third inning was loud, and it rattled Grayson Rodriguez’s start. Christian Arroyo led off with a line drive at shortstop Jorge Mateo. Rafael Devers ripped a double down the left field line and Adam Duvall homered over the “Faux Monster,” as it’s called here, for the game’s first runs. The outing didn’t get any

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Trevor Williams, in the kindest way of putting this, got his work in today against the Marlins. The Nationals right-hander reached the fifth inning and raised his pitch count to 92, tops of anyone on the staff so far this spring to put himself in excellent position for the start of the regular season in 12 days. The results

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Though he’s out of the Nationals lineup for the fourth straight day with a tight back, CJ Abrams appears close to returning to game action, probably as soon as Sunday. Abrams hasn’t played since Tuesday against the Mets, after which he reported tightness in his back. The 22-year-old shortstop suggested it wasn’t anything ser

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wants to get closer Félix Bautista three or four more appearances until the club breaks camp. Availability for Opening Day looks promising. Bautista has retired all six batters faced in his first two outings, striking out four and totaling 24 pitches. Almost too efficient. “I feel really confident wit

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Orioles brought Ryan Mountcastle, Kyle Stowers, Austin Hays and Jorge Mateo to JetBlue Park for today’s game against the Red Sox. Adam Frazier is leading off again, followed by Ramón Urías, who’s playing third base. Mountcastle follows as the designated hitter and Stowers is in left field and batting cleanup. Hays is in cente

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Would you believe we’re down to the final nine days of the Grapefruit League season? Time flies when you’re having fun, right? Would you also believe the Nationals currently own a winning record this spring, entering today’s contest with the Marlins at 9-8 thanks to Friday’s eight-run rally in the ninth, keyed by Darren Bake

When I was in Sarasota earlier this week, lefty Bruce Zimmermann talked about his spring performance. He has thrown more innings in spring games, 12, than any other O’s pitcher and has an ERA of 3.75, allowing 11 hits and five runs with three walks and eight strikeouts. The young man from Baltimore liked how he has been mixing pitches and attacking

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Spring training numbers mean as much or as little as you want them to, but here are the numbers now for MacKenzie Gore through five Grapefruit League starts: 11 earned runs, 21 hits, three homers, six walks, nine strikeouts in 14 innings. That’s a 7.07 ERA and 1.929 WHIP. Whether it portends real struggles when the season be